The present invention relates generally to mobile concrete producing machines and, more particularly, to improvements in such machines to permit a substantially continuous production and discharge of concrete along a path of travel while the mixer is in motion along the path of travel.
Mobile concrete mixers of the type seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,916, issued to H. M. Zimmerman, on Sept. 3, 1985, carry discrete quantities of the various materials and components used to produce concrete. Such concrete mixing units have been marketed under the trademark ZIM-MIXER and includes hoppers containing sand, a course aggregate, cement and water. These materials are combined in a desirable proportion by a metering and conveying mechanism that delivers the materials into a mixing auger operable to combine the materials and produce the desired amount of concrete. Such concrete mixers are limited in the amount of concrete that can be produced on a continuous basis because of the limited supply of material carried within the supply bins.
Another type of concrete production system is commonly referred to as a ready-mix system in which the materials are combined at a stationary plant to produce concrete in predetermined desired quantities and discharge into a delivery truck which in turn transports the previously mixed concrete to the job site at which the concrete is dispensed. Similarly to the ZIM-MIXER system, the ready-mix system is limited in the amount of concrete that can be continuously dispensed at one time. A need has arisen to provide a machine for the production of concrete in which the machine can produce a substantially continuous supply of concrete along a path of travel without interruption. Such machines can be utilized to produce a continuous supply of concrete having uniform characteristics along the path of travel by depositing the concrete directly into forms on the ground. Furthermore, the dispensed concrete can be used as in highway or bridge concrete overlay situations for either construction or repairs, as well as at other similar job sites requiring large amounts of concrete with uniform characteristics.